CIMB urges its staff to take (up to) 6-month unpaid leave--but not the senior management!

(Because CIMB senior management are required to evaluate the 'request' of those employees who are applying for such leave. Makes sense. I'm sure the senior management are seething for not being able to lead by example--that is, to take such unpaid leave to motivate their staff.)

The CIMB Investment Bank has presence in 9 countries: Bahrain, Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom and USA. I'd love to learn about how well the CIMB employees in all these 9 countries react to the so-called Staff Rejuvenation Programme.

A 6-month unpaid leave may seem a dream come true...for those who desperately need to take a break & can well afford it.

Or a nightmare for those employees who take up the offer due to the sheer peer pressure. (I'm taking up to 6-month paid leave! Why not you too? Don't spoil market leh!)

To have this program is well accepted, perhaps there should be some reward system introduced. For those who are willing to help CIMB to cut cost with their sacrifice (of taking those unpaid leave), they should be recognized & rewarded with something. I'll leave the management of CIMB to think of the reward system (I have no vested interest in CIMB so I don't really have the need to help this organization too much. Hur hur.)

Malaysia'S top investment bank, CIMB, on Monday urged its staff to go on unpaid leave for up to six months in a move to cut costs because of the global economic downturn.

CIMB Group chief executive Nazir Razak said the offer to its 36,000 staff was aimed at avoiding layoffs and would involve employees across nine countries, including Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, the national news agency Bernama reported.

'We don't have a target, but there will be cost savings,' Mr Nazir said. 'It's a positive move and a win-win situation.' He added that in the current economic situation, 'it is fully understood that there is spare capacity'.

Any employee in the group is eligible for the initiative - called the Staff Rejuvenation Programme - and the option would be granted after evaluation by senior management, said Mr Nazir.

CIMB officials confirmed his comments and said the unpaid-leave programme will start next month. The move, however, will not affect the group's operations as leave is subject to approval and the company can recall the staff when necessary, officials said.

CIMB, the country's second-largest bank, is the first major Malaysian company to ask staff to consider taking unpaid leave.

The surprise move comes just after a labour group said on Sunday that more than 26,000 people have lost their jobs in the country so far this year.

CIMB's move reflects increasing difficulties for Malaysian corporations as the country faces the prospect of its first recession in a decade.

The government said earlier this month it expects the economy will grow 1 per cent in the best-case scenario this year and shrink 1 per cent in the worst-case scenario.

It had previously forecast growth of 3.5 per cent.

Economists have warned that the RM67 billion (S$28 billion) of stimulus measures announced by the government recently may be insufficient to avoid a recession.

From Straits Times, "Take 6-mth unpaid leave".

"What I Learned from Dating 100 Men"

Perseverence combined with a healthy dose of positive thinking. She has it all when she was dating--at least--100 men...within 6 months. Believe it or not, you decide.

New Creation Church is very GENEROUS: 1 employee was paid between $500,001 - $550,00 and 2 were paid between $150,001 - $200,000!

I don't really know about this New Creation Church. Sure there's a Wikipedia article, titled "New Creation Church (Singapore)" dedicated for this religious organization. And not to mention the official website of New Creation Church elegantly designed & very informative, I must admit.

In addition, I do recall quite a recent news about how $19 million were raised for the construction of its new premises at Buona Vista in less than 24 hours! Fantastic. The generosity of the New Creation Church members is simply beyond this world. Good for them (especially the Church)!

Today I come across about how in its last financial year, one employee of the New Creation Church was paid $500,000 (or as the news stated: between $500,001 and $550,000.) Another article mentions about two employees were paid between $150,001 and $200,000.

Perhaps generosity does beget generosity. A pity that New Creation Church's website does not have an advertisement for a job vacancy. I'd love to consider joining them. Of course, man does not live by bread alone, but it helps, doesn't it?

The New Creation Church, which made headlines for raising $19 million on one Sunday last month for its upcoming multi-million dollar building, pays good money to its staff too.

The independent church paid one employee between $500,001 and $550,000 in its last financial year, checks by The Straits Times showed.

The church did not confirm if the amount went to its leader, Senior Pastor Joseph Prince, but told The Straits Times that its policy is to 'recognise and reward key contributors to the church and Senior Pastor Prince is the main pillar of our church's growth and revenue'.

From Asiaone, "$500,000 pay for New Creation Church employee".

More details can be found in this article by MSN.

A Singapore-based church paid one of its leaders more than 500,000 dollars (329,000 US) in its last financial year, a report said Monday.

The New Creation Church, which raised 19 million Singapore dollars in just one day in February for the construction of its new premises, paid one employee between 500,001 and 550,000 dollars in the financial year ended March 31, 2008, the Straits Times said.

It said the church did not confirm if the money was paid to its leader, Senior Pastor Joseph Prince.

But New Creation's honorary secretary, Deacon Matthew Kang, was quoted by the newspaper as saying it was the church's policy to "recognise and reward key contributors... and Senior Pastor Prince is the main pillar of our church's growth and revenue."

Kang also described Prince as "the key man responsible for bringing in about 95 percent of our church's income," and added "he has enriched the church and not the other way around."

Two other employees of the church were paid between 150,001 and 200,000 dollars, but no names were given, the report said.

One of Singapore's fastest growing churches, New Creation had an income of 55.4 million dollars and net assets of 143.36 million dollars in its last financial year, according to its website.

Singapore is a predominantly ethnic Chinese society with deep Buddhist and Taoist traditions, but Christians here are known as a devout, close-knit and relatively affluent community.

From MSN.com, "Singapore church pays princely sum to leader: report".

3rd death in NTU: a research fellow hit by a car

Death becomes, uhm, NTU? (Strange the title of this movie, "Death Becomes Her" comes to mind.)

The victim was said to be a research fellow in the School of EEE--the same faculty from which David Hartanto Widjaja (the final year student who fell to his death after allegedly stabbed his lecturer Professor Chan Kap Luk) & Zhou Zheng (the project officer who was reported to be found hanged in a staff apartment) was studying and/or working respectively.

I guess that's all the similarity about. For sure it won't be sufficient for people to speculate & conjure a incredible tale about the deaths. Unless the car driver has something to do with the first two tragedies--however, we shouldn't think that way especially with the lack of details about the car driver. Who was he? Did he stop after hitting the victim? Why was he not mentioned at all in the article?

Another death of a person linked to Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has occurred, making it the third in 25 days.

Last Friday, Mr Hu Kunlun, 29, a research fellow in the Division of Control and Instrumentation from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), was killed when he was hit by a car.

According to a report in the Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao, the China national was on his way to work that morning. He was believed to have started work less than a year ago.

A car hit him when he was crossing Pioneer Road North to catch a bus.

He was rushed to the National University Hospital in an ambulance and pronounced dead at 11.20am.

His family has been contacted and will arrive in Singapore tomorrow.

NTU declined to comment on the incident, telling The Sunday Times that the death is not the same as the two that occurred previously.

On March 2, an Indonesian EEE student stabbed his professor before falling to his death.

A few days later, a 24-year-old project officer, a China national who was also from EEE, was found hanged in the balcony of his campus apartment.

From Straits Times, "Another NTU death".

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Update on 30/03: The New Paper reveals more details about the accident.

Dr Hu Kunlun, 29, was killed in a traffic accident around 9am on Friday.

A research fellow with Nanyang Technological University's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering's (EEE) Division of Control and Instrumentation, Dr Hu was on his way back to campus when the accident took place.

According to witnesses, Dr Hu, who is from China, was waiting to cross Pioneer Road North towards a bus stop on the other side.

As he was waiting for the traffic to clear, a service 179 bus arrived at the bus stop.

Dr Hu then dashed across the road to catch the bus.

But just as he stepped off the road divider, he was hit by a red car.

A witness, deliveryman Lin Yaoming, 50, told Lianhe Wanbao: 'Only bus service 179 serves the bus stop. I saw a man rush across the road as the bus arrived. A red Mazda couldn't stop in time and hit him.'

Service 179 plies between Boon Lay Interchange and the NTU campus.

Mr Lin said that as the car hit Dr Hu, his head smashed into its windscreen.

He then rolled over the car's roof and fell in the middle of the road, behind the car. He was bleeding from his head.

Dr Hu was wearing a red and white shirt and jeans, and was carrying a backpack.

Backpack flung 10m

Another witness said he spotted a badminton racket jutting out of the backpack, which was flung about 10m away. The racket landed on a nearby grass patch.

Mr Lin added that the driver of the red Mazda looked like a man in his 30s, and there was a female passenger with him.

Both left the car and rushed to check on Dr Hu, looking shocked.

Passers-by also helped to call the police and for an ambulance.

Dr Hu was taken to the National University Hospital, but he died at 11.20am.

His death comes after those of Mr David Hartanto Widjaja, 21, a final-year student at the School, and Mr Zhou Zheng, 24, an NTU project officer.

The former, an Indonesian, stabbed his project supervisor, Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, before falling five floors to his death.

Mr Zhou, a Chinese national from Hubei, was found hanging in the balcony of his apartment at NTU five days after the first incident.

Yesterday morning, several of Dr Hu's friends and colleagues, as well as two officers from NTU, were at the mortuary to identify the body.

They said Dr Hu's family has been informed. They are making travel arrangements and are expected to arrive in Singapore tomorrow.

A male colleague told Lianhe Wanbao that Dr Hu, who was single and a native of China's Jiangxi province, joined NTU three months ago.

He added that his colleagues have been feeling very sombre since they received the news and that he would not comment any further.

Police said the accident is under investigation.

From The New Paper, "NTU research fellow killed in accident".

Ping.sg cheater feat. "howcomeyouarehere" (still cheating in ping.sg, huh?)

Let the above screenshot of the post by (one recalcitrant cheater) pingster howcomeyouarehere speaks the deed itself: 21 pongs with only 20 reads! For the clueless, it's the common case whereby the no of reads exceeding the no of pongs. At the very least, both figures may be equal.

But to have more pongs than reads can only mean 1 read is done by more than 1 pong. In short: cheating in progress. Sheesh. And this is not the first time the cheater howcomeyouarehere featured in this blog. Yes, any kind of publicity is welcomed, eh, cheater?

3rd Earth Hour: Join Anonymous_X and the world for Earth Hour!

Great minds think alike, huh, Starhub. Nudge nudge. Okay. The title is inspired by Starhub's initiative to promote Earth Hour (which will be on 28/03/09 from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm).

How Starhub does it, you wonder. Well, simply by pleading us the irreverent energy users to switch off our lights for Earth Hour. (Check out its fancy site here and here).

Simple, isn't it? And if you do click the button, "Join us", this site will appear & explains about what is Earth Hour & how Starhub participate in Earth Hour fad:

Earth Hour is an annual global initiative organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) that encourages households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour in order to raise awareness of climate change. It started in Australia in 2007, and achieved global participation in 2008.

This year, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights. It is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories, including Singapore, have pledged their support to Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

StarHub supports Earth Hour and will do our part by switching off our office lights, and dimming our StarHub Shops and Customer Service Centres on 28 March, from 8:30 - 9:30PM.

We look forward to your support for Earth Hour by doing the same.

Fantastic. I believe the period from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm is hardly a working hour for any decent offices. Perhaps there's not much difference, huh?

I reckon it's the thought that counts. An independent report from the power generation company needs to be published about how many dollars they lose due to the significant dark hour on that day. Maybe--just maybe--out of spite to the power generation company, more will be motivated to join this Earth Hour craze next year.

A noble goal...surely justifies whatever means, doesn't it?

More about Earth Hour, check this "Earth Hour" website & WWF Singapore.

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Elsewhere (still in Singapore, though) this is how Earth Hour shall be celebrated.

This Saturday, check into a five-star hotel and “sleep naked”... without air-conditioning. Dine by candlelight for discounts. Get free beer. Trek to Mount Faber for a view of the city lights going out. Or check on your Blackberry how the rest of the globe is celebrating Earth Hour, which takes place at 8.30pm in Singapore.

Although it’s just the second time Earth Hour is being observed here, businesses and organisations are taking a creative approach to get the public abuzz about saving energy.

Five hotels under Hong Leong Group’s Millennium and Copthorne (M&C) umbrella —including Grand Copthorne Waterfront and M Hotel — are going beyond just switching off their facade lights. Guests and staff are encouraged to do without air conditioning for the night.

“The idea for ‘Sleep Naked’ came from the fact that many South-east Asians living in rural areas sleep with little else but a sarong,” said M&C International Limited’s chief operating officer Yim Choong Hing.

“On very hot days, much of the sarong would come off.”

And to save paper, M&C staff are promoting the cause among guests largely by old-fashioned word-of-mouth.

Elsewhere, discounts, food and the promise of fun are being rolled out — mainly to get the buzz going for a good cause, establishments told TODAY, since business is already typically brisk on Saturday nights.

Making Earth Hour “happy hour”, Marriott Hotel’s Crossroads Café is giving a free half-pint of beer for every order of a pint, while Peranakan Place’s Alley Bar, Outdoors Café and Bar and Acid Bar are offering “green” drinks like apple martinis at S$12 (usual price S$16 to S$18) all night long.

At Wisma Atria, retailers and F&B operators will offer candlelight dinners, star-gazing and acoustic music.

CANDLELIGHT DINNERS, A SPARKLER PARTY

Guests of the InterContinental Hotels Group — the stable includes Crowne Plaza Changi Airport and Holiday Inn Atrium — will have their bills halved at some in-house restaurants during Earth Hour, provided they turn off their room lights.

But “we’re not going to go into their rooms (to check), because it has to be based on trust and environmental awareness,” said Crowne Plaza Changi Airport’s sales and marketing director Bryan Gabriel.

Diners at Four Seasons Hotel’s One-Ninety restaurant will be part of a 21-hour vigil, as 35 of its sister properties spanning Sydney to Hawaii, hold candlelight dinners. A dinner menu from S$48 will feature organic and local produce.

At Concorde Hotel (the former Le Meridien), fresh fruit, cookies and non-alcoholic drinks will be on-the-house at the hotel’s poolside, and guests will be given sparklers and entertained by a violinist and an accordionist.

“If guests stay in their rooms, they’ll have the lights, air-con and television on — how does that then support Earth Hour? So we thought, let’s have a party, let’s meet them and chat with them,” said Ms Evelyn Neo, its director of marketing communications.

IT’S IN THE STARS...

For those not up to shelling out money for dinner or a hotel room, there are other fun (and innocent) things to do in the dark.

Besides the official Earth Hour events at the Botanic Gardens and the Esplanade Park, there are activities catering to nature lovers, heartlanders, students, even virtual world fans.

For the latter, Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion has set up a dedicated mobile site for users to connect with others around the world, and to receive Earth Hour updates.

Environmental group ECO Singapore is reaching out to 30,000 households with the help of 1,200 student volunteers, with community events at five locations — the Esplanade, Zheng Hua Community Club, Hong Kah North Community Club, Bedok Community Centre and Damai Secondary School. On the cards are cultural performances and movie screenings.

Fellow eco group Nature Trekker Singapore will conduct a night walk to Mount Faber for a bird’s eye view of the city lights going out at 8.30pm.

The number of participants will be capped at 50, so as not to “disturb the lovers there”, quipped founder Ben Lee.

Fortune telling, palm-reading and star gazing will be held at the Singapore Management University’s Campus Green for students and the public, even as exams loom for some in two weeks.

SMU wanted to support the World Wide Fund for Nature and “take students’ minds off the exams” for an hour, said senior corporate communications manager Kim May.

With so much going on, there is little reason not to “switch off” at 8.30pm on Saturday. “It’s sexy, its fun and it’s the right thing to do,” said M&C’s Mr Yim.

GET OFFICIALLY INVOLVED

Official events this Saturday will take place at the Botanic Gardens and Esplanade Park, courtesy of Earth Hour organiser the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature.

Pack a picnic basket and head down to the Esplanade Park for the carnival from 5pm, before counting down to the big “switch off” with WWF Singapore’s managing director Amy Ho. Local bands and DJs will continue to entertain celebrants during the hour of darkness.

At the Botanic Gardens, The Climate Project’s Singapore-based director Tony Boatman will give a presentation — based on Al Gore’s 2007 documentary An Inconvenient Truth — at the Botany Centre’s Function Hall, at 2pm. You’ll need to register as seats are limited.

The official events will be powered with biodiesel, thanks to Alpha Bio Fuel.

Other events include a candlelight reception and talk by social media groups at Tangs’ Island Café; Sacred Funk’s yoga and meditation session at Stamford Green in Fort Canning Park; and 400 volunteers lighting candles to form the phrase “We Vote Earth!” on the Formula One track adjacent to the Singapore Flyer.

A slew of corporates will do their part by switching off lights on parts of their premises, include their facades and signage, such as Cathay cineplexes, HSBC Building, Marina and Meritus Mandarin Singapore, Suntec Singapore and 29 CapitaLand Singapore properties.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Earth hour is happy hour".

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Elsewhere (this time I mean it, elsewhere) Earth Hour shall be celebrated with:
- University of Calgary astrophysicists to monitor sky glow for Earth Hour

- The Coca-Cola Co. to turn off many of its signs to support “Earth Hour

- Woolworths to place specially designed bins in 46 of its national stores in which costumers may dispose of used energy-saving light bulbs, which contain mercury that can harm the environment

- Bay Bridge lights to be turned off Saturday for Earth Hour

- A Billion to go dark saturday. (Check out also EARTH HOUR PICTURES: Before & After the Lights Went Out at Brisbane, Toronto, Sydney and Perth)

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Update on 27/03: Channel NewsAsia has a report about 550 corporations and 8,000 individuals sign up for Earth Hour. From the article:

It is just one day before Earth Hour takes place, and some 8,000 individuals in Singapore have pledged to switch off the lights for an hour on Saturday from 8.30pm.

The numbers fall short of the target of one million participants, but those taking part are already showing their enthusiasm for the green initiative.

Come Saturday, 1,200 volunteers will be knocking on the doors of 30,000 households to share about Earth Hour and some energy-saving tips.

A volunteer from ECO Singapore, Loy Sye Yuet, said: "We find that there's growing support from the ground and that more and more residents are actually supportive of (Earth Hour)."

Datacraft is one of some 550 companies who have registered their commitment to switch off the lights. Employees of Datacraft have been given candles for the global environment initiative.

The company also observed Earth Hour a day earlier by turning off the lights during Friday's lunch break. The bright afternoon sunlight helped minimise the use of candles.

Human resource manager of Datacraft (Singapore), Ivy Chew, said: "What we did was we drew the blinds, so that it became brighter. People felt that there was no difference, we could still continue to work as per normal. There was no disruption to the workforce... Maybe we could do this more often."

The very first Earth Hour in Sydney in 2007 saw a 10 per cent reduction in energy consumption. However, organisers here are not measuring Singapore's success by the amount of energy saved, but on raising awareness on fighting climate change.

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Update on 28/03: It's reported in Channel NewsAsia about how Singapore observes Earth Hour, many buildings switch off lights for an hour. From the article:

Thousands of people across Singapore observed Earth Hour on Saturday, as individuals at home and organisations switched off their lights for an hour.

Many parts of Singapore were plunged into darkness, as the lights went off at 8.30pm Singapore time, and remained off until 9.30pm.

Earth Hour is a global initiative by the World Wide Fund for Nature to raise awareness of climate change. It is the second year that Earth Hour is being observed in Singapore.

Various hotels across the Marina Bay area switched off their lights at 8.30pm sharp.

Even the Singapore Flyer took part in observing Earth Hour this year.

The Fullerton Hotel dimmed its lights at 8.30pm sharp, while over at Raffles Place, the colourful lights outlining the Maybank building were switched off as well.

Downtown at Orchard Road, shopping malls also joined in to play their part in raising awareness of global warming and climate change.

More than 10,000 people pledged to take part in Earth Hour this year, and more than 450 businesses also said they would switch off their lights.

Earlier, on Saturday evening, hundreds of people gathered at the Esplanade Park for a picnic. Some of them told Channel NewsAsia that they were there to show support for Earth Hour, while others just wanted to have some fun.

Singapore is of one of the many countries in Asia that have joined the world in switching off its lights for 60 minutes. Altogether, some 83 countries are expected to observe Earth Hour this year.

Who are the 54 most beautiful politicians?

The recent news has Eunice Olsen from Singapore ranked 9th in the list of the world's most beautiful politicians. Big news? Maybe. Considering out of the 54 so-called most beautiful politicians, there are only 5 from Asia.

Not bad. 5 out of the top 54 most beautiful politicians are Asians! Out of curiousity, I googled the Net for their images. So here are those 5 Asians' most beautiful politicians:

No.5: Yuri Fujikawa, 27, Japan

No.9: Eunice Olsen, 31, Singapore

No.27: Angelina Sondak, 32, Indonesia

No.37: Jiang Yu, 44, China

No.54: Malalai Joy, 31, Afghanistan

The complete list of the most beautiful politicians (54 of them) are as follows:

1 - Luciana Leon, 30, Peru

2 - Mercedes Aráoz 47, Peru

3 - Sara Latife Ruiz Chavez, 32, Mexico

4 - Mara Carfagna, 32, Italy

5 - Yuri Fujikawa, 27, Japan

6 - Anna-Maria Galojan, 26, Estonia

7 - Toireasa Ferris, 29, Ireland

8 - Yuliya Tymoshenko, 48, Ukraine

9 - Eunice Olsen, 31, Singapore

10 - Cayetana Álvarez, 34, Spain

11 - Vera Lischka, 31, Austria

12 - Alina Kabaev, 26, Russia

13 - Gabriela Cueva, 29, Mexico

14 - Orly Levy, 35, Israel

15 - Cristina Dia, 50, Mexico

16 - Tsepeli Nikolet, 28, Greece

17 - Marianne Thiem, 36, The Netherlands

18 - Carme Chacó, 37, Spain

19 - Pnina Rosenblum, 53, Israel

20 - Bibiana Aíd, 31, Spain

21 - Tanja Karpel, 38, Finland

22 - Julia Anastasia Bon, 23, Germany

23 - Ruhama Avraha, 44, Israel

24 - Sarah Palin, 44, United States

25 - Stefania Prestigiacom, 43, Italy

26 - Sofia Larse, 36, Sweden

27 - Angelina Sondak, 32, Indonesia

28 - Cristina Fernández de Kirchne, 56, Argentina

29 - Katrín Gunnarsdótti, 43, Iceland

30 - Soraya Sáen, 37, Spain

31 - Anastasia Michael, 33, Israel

32 - Stephanie Herseth, 38, United States

33 - Mónica Lorente Ramó, 38, Spain

34 - Hillary Clinton, 61, United States

35 - Melissa Park, 42, Australia

36 - Ségolène Roya, 55, France

37 - Jiang Yu, 44, China

38 - Freya Van den Bossch, 34, Belgium

39 - Nebahat Albayra, 40, The Netherlands

40 - Kirsten Gillibran, 43, United States

41 - Eva Glawischni, 39, Austria

42 - Sabine Herol, 27, France

43 - Hillevi Larsso, 34, Sweden

44 - Hillevi Larsso, 46, Iceland

45 - Piia-Noora Kaupp, 33, Finland

46 - Sabine Bätzin, 34, German

47 - Isabel dos Santo, Angola

48 - Penny Won, 40, Australia

49 - Kate Elli, 32, Australia

50 - Melissa Lee, New Zealand

51 - Marcela Guerra Castill, Mexico

52 - Delsa Solórzano, Venezuela

53 - Natalie Rickl, 33, Sweden

54 - Malalai Joy, 31, Afghanistan

Three top reasons for the use of foreign children for Speak Mandarin Campaign ad.

Why use foreign children for Speak Mandarin Campaign ad? Here are three reasons (I have yet to eat my breakfast, can't think fully. Would love to have at least 5 reasons, though. Heh):

1. Will it make more sense to have local Singapore Chinese children for Speak Mandarin Campaign ad? Audience might not immediately identify that the advertisement is about the campaign for speaking Mandarin. They might have thought that it's just a strange ad showing a Chinese children speaking in Mandarin.

2. With the use of foreign children, it emphasizes the fact that Mandarin is one of universal languages. In fact, the Chinese language is the most widely spoken language!

3. It will be more expensive to feature foreign adult in the ad. The children models (wait, isn't it a kind of exploitation? Well, perhaps, if they're truly paid, that is.) should cost much lesser than the adult ones'.

Anyway here's the Speak Mandarin Campaign ad from YouTube, "Speak Mandarin Campaign 2009 - Be Heard in Chinese - 讲华语运动2009: 华文？谁怕谁？"

Entries (a mother, a daughter & her husband) to Hall of Shame of those who abuse their maid: Teng Chen Lian, Loke Phooi Ling & Stanley Kuah Kian Chong

Two different sources of news & both emphasized the female antagonists in their titles of the articles! To be fair both female culprits did have the most counts of offenses compared to that of the male bad, uhm, guy.

Still...I can't help but wonder perhaps, just perhaps, it's not the quantity of the horrible acts of abuse which should matter, but the gravity of the crime which should have more influence in how the penalty to be given.

A Malaysian mother and daughter pleaded guilty Friday to maid abuse in Singapore as their trial was under way, a newspaper reported.

Housewife Loke Phooi Ling, 38, was charged with 32 counts and Teng Chen Lian, 67, with six counts of abusing their 23-year-old Indonesian maid from March to July 2007. They pleaded guilty after nine days of testimony in their trial in Singapore District Court, the Straits Times said.

Loke confessed to grabbing the maid's hair and banging her head against the wall, hitting her in the eye, stamping on her feet and using household implements to hit her.

Teng pleaded guilty to stamping the maid on her thighs, slapping her in the face, hitting her on the head and pushing the maid, causing her to fall.

The family also did not allow the maid enough rest or food, and she lost nearly 13 kilograms over the four months she was with the family, the court heard.

The maid escaped by climbing out a kitchen window. She then went to a mosque from which people took her to the Indonesian embassy, where she made a complaint.

Also charged with three counts in the case was Loke's husband, banking executive Stanley Kuah Kian Chong, 38.

Singapore's government has been getting tough on people abusing foreign workers and maids after an increasing number of complaints about mistreatment by their employers.

From TopNews.in, "Malaysian mother, daughter plead guilty to maid abuse in Singapore".

Also from Straits Times, "Mum, daughter hit maid":

A HOUSEWIFE and her mother who initially went on trial for maid abuse changed their pleas to guilty on Friday.

Loke Phooi Ling, 38, Teng Chen Lian, 67, both Malaysians, and Loke's husband, Stanley Kuah Kian Chong, 38, also a Malaysian bank executive, had claimed trial to 32, six and three charges respectively, of causing hurt to their Indonesian maid.

The prosecution had not closed its case when the defence made an offer to the former earlier this week.

Four prosecution witnesses had testified so far over nine days of hearing before District Judge Jill Tan.

Loke admitted grabbing Ms Susilawati Kusnata's hair and banging her head against the wall, punching her in the left eye, stamping on her feet and using household implements to hit the 23-year-old, among the 10 charges.

The abuses took place at their Pasir Ris flat between March and July 2007. Another 19 charges were taken into consideration.

Teng pleaded guilty to stamping Ms Susilawati on her thighs, slapping her cheeks and hitting her on the head on July 5 the same year. She also admitted to pushing the maid, causing her to fall.

Another charge was taken into consideration.

The court heard that from end-March to July 4, 2007, the maid was physically abused over numerous times by Loke and other household members.

The victim also did not get enough rest and food and lost nearly 13kg over the four months she was with the family.

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Update on 31/03: the verdict is out! The older woman slapped with a 4-week jail term whereas the daughter sent to jail for 8 months & 2 week. The husband? He was free by paying a compensation of $5,000. Is that even allowed?!

A housewife and her mother were sentenced to jail on Tuesday for maid abuse after pleading guilty midway during their trial in a district court.

Loke Phooi Ling, 38, a permanent resident, will begin her eight-month and two-week sentence on April 30 while her mother, Teng Chen Lian, 67, will begin her four-week sentence first.

The two women, together with Loke's husband, bank executive Stanley Kuah Kian Chong, 38, had been tried on 32 and six charges respectively, while Kuah had three charges levelled against him.

Mr Kuah was acquitted earlier on Tuesday by District Judge Jill Tan after he paid a compensation of $5,000 to the victim, Miss Susilawati Kusnata, 23, to compound the case.

Last week, both women changed their pleas to guilty after nine days of hearing, when though the prosecuiton had not closed its case then.

Among the 10 charges, Loke admitted to grabbing the maid's hair and banging her head against the wall, punching her in the left eye, and using implements to hit her between end-March and July 4, 2007.

Teng, a Malaysian, stamped on the victim's thighs, slapped her and hit her on the head after chiding her for dozing off while wiping the floor in the living room on July 5 that year. Half an hour later when she emerged from her bedroom, she again claimed that the maid had dozed off while working and pushed her body, causing her to fall.

Miss Susilatawati, who suffered repeated abuses during her four-month employment, decided to run away after that. She climbed out of the fifth-floor Pasir Ris kitchen window and made her way across a ledge to the staircase landing. She found her way to a mosque and some people took her to the Indonesian embassy. A police report was made.

The court heard that she lost about 14kg while working for the family.

Loke, who has three children, was cleared of three charges after the prosecution withdrew them. Nineteen other charges were considered. Teng was acquitted of three counts of maid abuse after they were withdrawn, with one other charge being taken into consideration during her sentencing.

Both women could have been jailed for up to 18 months and/or fined up to $1,500 on each charge of voluntarily causing hurt. Teng could have been jailed for up to three months or fined up to $500, or both, for using criminal force on the victim.

From Straits Times, "Jailed for maid abuse".

First it was Winter Sonata, now it's Tokyo Sonata

Note the difference, though, Winter Sonata is a TV series whereas Tokyo Sonata is a film. I didn't watch the former, but I'd definitely give a try for the latter.

"Tokyo Sonata" is set in Japan's capital and brim-full of the city's culture, but director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's tale of unemployed misery has also captured the zeitgeist of the US economic crisis.

Visiting Los Angeles to promote the film now rolling out across America, the award-winning Kurosawa said he was just interested in making a film dealing with modern life.

"The theme I am most concerned with right now is what kind of generation the 21st century truly is," he told a roundtable on Thursday.

"Why is it so muddled and confused? Why is it so vastly different from the vision of the future we had in the previous century? Who is responsible for the way things turned out?"

The answer, the 53-year-old conceded, "is difficult to find".

Set in modern-day Tokyo, "Sonata" chronicles the quiet unravelling of an ordinary family of four.

The family's patriarch unexpectedly loses his job, but instead of telling his wife and children, he decides to enter "a lonely sojourn into the world of the secretly unemployed," Kurosawa said.

"I started from a point where lies, suspicion and a complete breakdown of communication already have established themselves within the family," he added.

"Without a doubt, this is 'modern' and this is also 'Japan'."

But the Kobe-born director said he also "would like to show a glimmer of hope in the end. Can I do that? Even if I could do so, would that be something that saves a conventional family?"

He will soon find out how deeply that angst resonates on this side of the Pacific.

The film will open in select theatres starting Friday, hoping to make good on the success of other Japanese cinema.

"Okuribito" (Departures) won the a best foreign film award at this year's Oscars and another Japanese film, "Aruitemo Aruitemo" (Still Walking) has been praised for its exploration of inter-generational tensions.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Japanese flick hits on global unemployment woes".

CapitaLand: Not Vested, Ever!!

Editor-at-large for Today, Conraj Rad had written a wonderful piece of article, "Put a lid on bonuses". Without doubt, the recent envy-inducing news about the CapitaLand CEO Mr. Liew Mun Leong's bonus of $20.52 million in 2007 is the prime focus of the article. Conraj Rad raised an apt question:

While the bonuses are based on the group’s performance, due mainly to the EVA, shouldn’t there be a cap on such payouts for all companies here? An upper limit of say, $10 million on bonuses should be more than adequate in Singapore.

And Conraj Rad for sure has done his homework. He quoted the already generous salary of the CapitaLand CEO:

Remember, too, that the Mr Liew’s bonus is on top of a rather generous base salary of $1.2 million for last year and $1.15 million in 2007.

Yes. Let the figures sink. Now you can resume breathing.

Being a CEO in such a generous company might indeed be my best keep-on-dreaming job. But if I were the investor, I'd be very disgusted & will surely swear off this counter.

Khairy Jamaluddin wins Youth's chief of UMNO | It's good that sore losers...stay losers

Three contestants. A closely fought battle of voting & 'multiple' recounting of votes. And one deserving winner? Couldn't tell. Though for sure, there are two sore losers.

One candidate, Mukhriz Mahathir (yes, he's the son of former PM Mahathir Mohamad) and another, Khir Toyo (the former Selangor Chief Minister) showed reactions which very much what sore losers elsewhere did. One cried and another vanished. Sangat memalukan (very embarrasing)!!

The son-in-law of outgoing Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, won the battle yesterday for the top post in the youth wing of Malaysia’s ruling party, after a close three-cornered fight.

The former United Malays National Organisation’s (Umno) Youth deputy chief picked up 304 votes while the son of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Mr Mukhriz Mahathir, claimed 232 votes. Former Selangor Chief Minister Khir Toyo bagged 254 votes.

The announcement of the results was delayed by a couple of hours because of multiple vote recounts, following objections raised by the three candidates.

According to news portal Malaysiakini, the race was so tight that the lead kept changing between the three contestants.

A source also told The Malaysian Insider that polling agents had complained of being unable to examine the ballot papers properly and that they were positioned at a distance from the vote counters.

Further recounts ensued with each one resulting in slim margins of victory.

After the announcement, Mr Mukhriz was seen crying and being consoled by supporters before Mr Khairy entered after 11pm to jubilant hugs and cheers. Mr Khir Toyo was nowhere to be seen as results were announced.

At 33, Mr Khairy becomes the youngest Youth chief in Umno’s long history. He said that he was humbled by the results as he won less than 40 per cent of the votes from the 791 Youth delegates.

The race has been widely seen as the proxy battle between Mr Abdullah andDr Mahathir, who head Malaysia’s top two political families.

Umno’s youth wing is a nurturing ground for future leaders, and the result was seen as determining which of them will leadMalaysia’s future.

Earlier in the day, the heated contest spilled over into a show of force during the wing’s annual meeting just before delegates cast their votes.

Hundreds of supporters of the rival candidates staged an impromptu rally, chanting and singing songs, which brought proceedings to a standstill. The supporters were wearing T-shirts with the candidate’s candidacy number, picture and name.

According to Malaysiakini, the voting for the post of the Umno Youth chief started past 11am after a slight delay, and ended at 1.45pm.

Mr Khairy was an aide to Mr Abdullah before marrying his boss’ daughter in 2001, sending him on a meteoric rise that landed him the deputy youth chief position in 2004.

Eloquent and often expensively-dressed, Mr Khairy’s big ambitions and alleged influence with his father-in-law have seen him vilified on political websites.

Mr Mahathir has accused Mr Abdullah of pandering to the demands of Mr Khairy, whom he said was influencing government policy, contracts and appointments — charges Mr Khairy denies.

No stranger to controversy, he and 10 other Umno officials were found guilty last week of vote-buying ahead of party elections.

But Mr Khairy was only given a warning for breaching Umno’s campaign rules, which allowed him to contest the elections.

In the wake of last night’s announcement, a group of about 100 Mukhriz supporters came together to protest the election results.

“Khairy, rasuah (corruption),” they shouted, venting their frustration. Mr Mukhriz appealed to his supporters to calm down.

From Today, "After tense recounts, it’s Khairy".

2 Komodo dragons...and a human prey

What a good reminder that we are not at the top of the food chain!

Two Komodo dragons mauled a fruit-picker to death in eastern Indonesia, police and witnesses said Tuesday, the latest in a string of attacks on humans by the world's largest lizard species.

Police Sgt. Kosmas Jalang said 31-year-old Muhamad Anwar was attacked on Komodo, one of four islands where the giant reptile is found in the wild, minutes after he fell out of a sugar-apple tree on Monday.

He was bleeding badly from bites to his hands, body, legs and neck after two lizards, waiting below, attacked him, according to a neighbor, Theresia Tawa. He died at a clinic on the neighboring island of Flores soon after.

Attacks on humans by Komodo dragons _ said to number at less than 4,000 in the wild _ are rare, but seem to have increased in recent years.

An 8-year-old boy was killed in 2007 _ the first recorded deadly attack on a human by one of the endangered lizards in three decades. A park ranger narrowly survived after one of the animals entered his hut last month and started biting his hands and legs.

There have been several other attacks in recent months, according to Metro TV.

The reptiles, which can grow up to 10 feet long (three meters) and weigh as much as 150 pounds (70 kilograms), have shark-like serrated teeth and a bite that can be deadly. Its saliva contains roughly 50 different known bacteria strains, so infection is a risk.

Komodos can be found in the wild on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca. Tiny numbers also can be found on Flores.

From Yahoo! News, "2 Komodo dragons kill man in eastern Indonesia".

Another entry (actually a couple) to Hall of Shame of those who abuse their maid...Presenting: Lim Beng Tai & Connie Ng Lay Har

Will these two suspects be slapped with the maximum penalty? I do hope so. And I wish it's made known publicly as to deter other heartless employers.

Maids' Agency should have a black list of employers convicted of abusing their maids. Refuse them domestic helpers next time. Just because they have money, they think they have the right to ill treat other human being?!

A property agent was charged on Wednesday with seriously hurting the eye of his Indonesian maid and 10 other counts of maid abuse.

Lim Beng Tai faces 11 charges while his wife, Connie Ng Lay Har, both 38, is charged with one count.

Lim is alleged to have caused a fracture in Ms Jasmiati's right eye when he hit her at his Toh Guan Road home on July 24 last year.

His other charges include pinching and using his finger knuckle to hit the 25-year-old on the neck or head.

The alleged offences occurred in carparks, outside his unit and at home between March 16 and June last year.

Ng, a relocation officer, is accused of punching the maid once and hitting the victim's right hand in a car on July 21 last year.

The couple was represented by Mr Raji Ramason, who told the court that he would be making representations.

Lim is out on $20,000 bail.

The case has been adjourned to April 20 for a pre-trial conference.

If convicted of causing grievous hurt, Lim faces a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine, or caning.

If convicted of causing hurt to the maid, the couple may be jailed for up to three years or fined up to $7,500 or both on each charge.

From Straits Times, "Maid abuse: couple charged".

Much ado about nothing, really: Wayang.party.com allegedly blocked by local ISPs

Indeed. I definitely won't be bothered. Call me ignorant, but this is the first time I heard about wayangparty.com (Okay, so Tomorrow.sg is educational after all).

The site wayangparty.com--although not accessible, for whatever reasons--may be viewed in these mirror sites: "The Wayang Party Club of Singapore" and "The Wayang Party Club".

I visited both sites. I'm hardly impressed.

Out of curiousity (and boredom), I tried to google for 'wayang party'. The only news article which had a mention (albeit briefly) about wayangparty.com is this Straits Times article, "Blogs' reach limited: Study". Quite recently published on 05/03.

Here's the quoted article:

Singapore's socio-political blogs have grown in the quality of writing, but their reach remains limited compared to mainstream media, two Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) researchers said on Wednesday.

Most Singaporeans still rely heavily on traditional media for news and views, IPS senior research fellow Tan Tarn How said in a presentation on developments in the local blogosphere.

He was speaking at a seminar attended by about 60 bloggers, academics and media professionals at the National University of Singapore's Bukit Timah Campus.

Mr Tan compared the several thousand readers who tune in to socio-political websites The Online Citizen (TOC) and The Wayang Party Club to The Straits Times' circulation of nearly 400,000 and its readership of 1.3 million.

He also cited a Gallup poll conducted in 2005 and 2006 in which 69 per cent of Singaporeans said they had confidence in their mainstream media, compared to 32 per cent in the United States.

Mr Tan said that until 12 to 18 months ago, bloggers who wrote on social and political issues did so mainly as commentators and armchair critics in an 'echo chamber' that had little impact offline.

More recently, however, bloggers from TOC and The Wayang Party Club have done more activism and original reporting.

One example was TOC speaking out last September against the public transport fare hikes and releasing a 10-page report on how to improve the transport system.

Another example was during the online outcry over Permanent Secretary Tan Yong Soon's expensive culinary holiday, in which Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Charles Chong was also targeted after he was quoted as using the term 'lesser mortals' to describe the Permanent Secretary's critics.

The Wayang Party Club wrote to Mr Chong to get him to clarify his remarks, and ran his full reply on its website.

But TOC and Wayang Party Club editors do not think the majority of Singaporeans are aware of their sites, said IPS researcher Tan, who interviewed them.

Strange I missed out this piece of news earlier. Heh. Perhaps the editors of wayangparty.com are right about their statement that many are not yet aware about the site.

If that's the case, there's no point for the local ISPs to block wayangparty.com, isn't it?

Exactly. That may just prove that the editors of wayangparty.com are a bit paranoid with their thinking that "wayangparty.com has been blocked by local ISPs".

Quoted from The Wayang Party Club of Singapore, "wayangparty.com being blocked by local ISPs?":

Dear readers,

It appears that wayangparty.com has been blocked by local ISPs. Readers from Australia, U.S. and U.K are able to acccess the site, but not those from Singapore and Hong Kong.

We will be posting our updates here till the main site becomes accessible.

We are currently contacting the web hosting company to resolve the problem.

Please bear with the technical glitch in the meantime.

Please spread the message around.



THE EDITORIAL TEAM

Anyway, hey I do help them to spread the message around! Share a laugh, shall we? =)

(Who are those famous people who are) Discussing The Divine Comedy With Dante

Oh yeah, you've just to check the cool painting, "Discussing The Divine Comedy With Dante". (Screenshot above, but you may want to view the full size image of "Famous People Painting with Wiki Links & mouse over tagging").

How many famous people can you spot in this painting?

This 2006 artwork by Chinese artists Dai Dudu, Li Tiezi and Zhang Anjun has become an Internet hit, with people scrambling to identify all the 103 figures depicted in it.

The dinner party guests - including Stalin, Beethoven, Audrey Hepburn, Bruce Lee, Elvis, Marlon Brando, Mao Zedong, Gandhi and Bill Clinton - are surrounded by images of Man's creations such as the Pyramids.

The painting, called Discussing The Divine Comedy With Dante, was inspired by the 12th-century poet's opus and is meant to eulogise history and human civilisation.

How many people can you recognise?

Spanning 6 by 2.6 meters, it also depicts world landmarks like the Great Wall of China, the Egyptian pyramids, Easter Island’s stone figures and Britain’s Stonehenge.

In the painting, former Russian leader Josef Stalin and Leonardo da Vinci seem to be engaging in a serious discussion. Current Russian leader Vladimir Putin rests his legs next to a sprawled-out Mike Tyson.

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, holding her handbag, looks on with her trademark disdain.

Many of the personalities featured are Chinese. Former Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong is seen with former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai standing behind him.

Two famous warriors are featured - Mongolian leader Genghis Khan on a horse, back facing Napoleon Bonaparte, also on a horse.

Ancient Chinese Tang poet Li Bai seems half-drunk on a chair, with a small wine cup and a typewriter.

Other recognisable Chinese faces are former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, ancient philosopher Confucius, Sun Yat Sen, who gave democracy to China, former Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai Shek, and the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shihuang of the Chin dynasty.

More contemporary Chinese figures kung-fu star Bruce Lee and Olympics hurdler Liu Xiang.

Message boards on the Internet have been organising contests for readers to identify all the famous people featured.

We give you most of the answers here:

The non-Chinese fugures are:

Dante, Archimedes, Gates, Lenin, Pele, Tutankhamen, Hitler, Mussolini, Saddam, Chopin, Hepburn, Ford, Charlie Chaplin, Bethune, Gorky, Pushkin, Charles de Gaulle, Paul, Bill Clinton, Peter the Great, Matisse, Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, Elvis, Stalin, Da Vinci, Marx, Engels, Goethe, Nietzsche,Robert Caro, Shakespeare , Mozart, Napoleon, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Marlon Brando, Yasser Arafat, Monroe, Washington, Lincoln, Marie Curie, Rodin, Picasso, Caesar, Osama bin Laden, Bush, Luciano Pavarotti, Dali, Jordan, Sharon, Chennault, Charles, Kofi Annan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Hideki Tojo, Mother Teresa, Michelangelo, Bismarck, Nobel, Tagore, Rousseau, Van Gogh, Eisenhower, Lautrec, Corneliu Baba, Gandhi, Noah, Einstein, Tolstoy, Hans Christian Andersen, Spielberg, Shirley Temple, Tyson, Vladimir Putin, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Freud, Elizabeth II.

From SoShiok.com (?) "Spot the famous people in this drawing of a dinner party".

Pranav Veera, the 6-year-old boy genius whose IQ is HIGHER than Einstein's!!

It's claimed that Pranav Veera, the boy genius "can say the alphabet backwards and list the names of U.S. presidents in the order they served in office. If you give him any date going back to 2000, Veera can tell you what day of the week that was." (From AOL News, "6-Year-Old's IQ Is Higher Than Einstein's".)

His intelligence is wasted. So what if his IQ is 176 compare to that of Einstein's 160? The more appropriate question will be whether Pranav Veera would be able to utilized the power of his intellect to the max?

With her husband-to-be & her mother shamelessly fighting, it may be good that she does not wake up from a coma yet?!

I have another answer to the question, "What would you do if your wife-to-be/special-someone fell in coma?"

I will for sure not argue to my parents in law. Shame on you Mr. Teo!! (And to think I wasted a post just to praise your action earlier.)

They sit just centimetres apart across a hospital bed. Day after day, hour after hour, steadfastly ignoring each other.

On one side of the single-sized bed is the fiance, newspaper vendor Teo Boon Teck, 30. On the other, his fiance's mother and aunt.

Vietnamese bride Dinh Thi Thom, 21, lies comatose in the centre, a fragile, oblivious wall separating two warring parties.

The two sides make no secret of their contempt for one another. But they are bound by the person who lies between them - Ms Dinh.

On her right side - her Singaporean fiance, whom she was supposed to marry on Christmas Eve last year. She was knocked down by a lorry 30 minutes before the ceremony.

On her left side - her mother Nguyen Thi-Dum, 51, a farmer, and relative Madam Mac Thi Hai, 72, who flew to Singapore last month hoping to take her home.

What started as a touching love story of a lovelorn fiance who refused to let go of his comatose Vietnamese bride has deteriorated into a bitter dispute over money.

Ms Dinh's family has accused Mr Teo of trying to get hold of her insurance money, which is still being worked out, and threatening to 'beat them to death'.

Mr Teo denied this, and has launched his own verbal offensive: They stole from him, spat at his father and got several men to threaten him, he claimed.

Police reports have been lodged by both sides.

This drama is being played out in the National University Hospital, where Ms Dinh has been in a coma for the past four months.

Her mother and aunt spend all day at her bedside and sleep in the ward at night.

Mr Teo spends all day on the other side of her hospital bed, or in the TV room, and sleeps at the hospital lobby at night.

Said Madam Mac on behalf of Madam Nguyen, who only speaks Vietnamese: 'These days, we refuse to speak to him. He's here all day.

'At night, his father comes. Sometimes, he hugs and kisses her,' she said with a shudder.

'We just ignore him. But the more I sit with him, the more my heart pain.'

Mr Teo's anger, too, is palpable. 'They treat me like a ghost. Sometimes the mother looks at me like I'm trying to kill her.

'But they can't chase me away; they can't say I can't be here.

'I want people to know all the effort I put in. Who has been sitting by her bedside for two months? She knows who loves her the most.'

Soured relations

The animosity is a far cry from when Madam Nguyen and Madam Mac arrived in Singapore last month.

Then, Mr Teo had let the two women spend three nights in his family's Jurong flat.

All three then spent almost a month sharing the floor space around Ms Dinh's hospital bed.

But this soon changed. Each side had its own idea of Ms Dinh's future.

Her mother wants her back in Vietnam so her family could take care of her. Mr Teo wants Ms Dinh to stay in Singapore with him.

If they wanted to take her back, he said, they would have to pay him $30,000 for her living expenses from the time she came to Singapore in October last year to live in his flat.

The money also includes compensation for all the time and effort Mr Teo spent on her in the past four months.

Things came to a head early this month over who has the legal right to the insurance payout from the lorry driver's insurance company.

The Vietnamese embassy approached lawyer K Anparasan, deputy managing partner of KhattarWong, to help Madam Nguyen for free.

But when Mr Anparasan wrote to the insurer on 6 Mar to ask for an interim payment to pay the hospital bill, which stands at $83,000, he discovered that MrTeo had already engaged a lawyer and written to the insurer, also asking for an interim payment.

Mr Anparasan wrote several letters to Mr Teo's lawyer, saying that Madam Nguyen, as Ms Dinh's mother, has the right to act for her, whereas Ms Dinh and Mr Teo are legally not married.

Mr Teo's lawyer wrote back last Friday conceding this. He added that his client should not be held responsible for the hospital bill.

Ms Dinh's relative, Madam Mac, told The New Paper angrily that this showed that Mr Teo was after the insurance money.

The accident is still under police investigation, so it's unknown how much Ms Dinh may receive, or if the lorry driver is liable.

But Mr Teo countered that he asked for the interim payment only to pay for the hospital bill, and would never have kept any of the money for himself. He claimed he would have put it in an account under Ms Dinh's name.

'We're not fighting for the insurance. Her mother doesn't know Singapore law, so we were trying to help her. How would I know she would go and get her own lawyer?

'That's why my lawyer said, let them do it. Or else they would say I'm greedy and after the money.'

But relations deteriorated rapidly from there.

Madam Mac claimed that on Tuesday, Mr Teo and his father followed her into the NUH lift when she was on her way to buying dinner.

She claimed the elder Mr Teo shouted at her, threatening to beat them to death.

She claimed she ran out of the lift and reported the incident to a nurse, who took her to the hospital's police post to make a report, which she showed to The NewPaper.

Madam Mac said that since the threat, she and Madam Nguyen are afraid to go to sleep, with Mr Teo so close.

She said: 'We take turns to sleep and watch every night. Then, we are safe. What if he attacks us in our sleep? What if we get injured or die in Singapore?'

Accusation

But Mr Teo said no such incident happened, and accused Madam Mac of being a liar.

He counter-claimed that Madam Mac got three men to threaten him one night. He said the men had approached and warned him not to return to the ward, or they would turn nasty.

'They are the ones making trouble for me,' he said.

He also claimed that Madam Nguyen had spat on his father. This led to a heated argument.

'My father said, 'If you're not happy, we go to the police post and talk'.'

Mr Teo also made a police report last week against the women, claiming they stole $80 from his house during the three days they stayed there in February.

Why delay making the report? He replied that he wanted to give the women time to explain themselves before going to the police.

On this, Madam Mac said: 'He got the officer to come and ask how much money we had on us.

'(Ms Dinh's mother) was so angry. We are poor, but we're not greedy for this kind of money. I swear, we never took this money, or heaven will strike us down.

'And why is he only mentioning this now, one month later? What's his motive?

'He's empty-handed now, that's why he keeps doing this.'

Mr Teo himself repeatedly insists on the $30,000 compensation, which he insists the women 'must' pay him if they want to take Ms Dinh back to Vietnam.

He said they can take this money from the insurance interim payment.

He said: 'Otherwise, why did I waste two months here in the hospital? To be her slave? They must use their conscience to decide.'

To prove his point, he stood up and held Ms Dinh's right hand, while Madam Nguyen watched warily from the other side.

He whispered fervently into Ms Dinh's ear: 'You know who is good to you. Who sits here for 2 months?

'If I leave you, I'll be struck by lightening. I'm your husband. For you, I gave up working to take care of you. Is this not called love? I can't give up now.'

---

The story so far

VIETNAMESE bride Dinh Thi Thom came to Singapore last October to marry Singaporean Teo Boon Teck.

She lived in his flat with his parents. She was knocked down by a lorry less than 30 minutes before their marriage ceremony on Christmas Eve last year. She suffered brain haemorrhage and went into a coma. Mr Teo has been spending every day and night in the hospital since.

Ms Dinh's parents were informed of the accident by the Vietnamese embassy last month, and her mother and aunt flew to Singapore.

Since then, Ms Dinh's family and Mr Teo's family have been fighting over who has the right to take care of her, make decisions over her care, and who has the right to receive her insurance payout, and be responsible for the hospital bill.

From The New Paper, "S'porean says of fiancee's mum: She spits at us and steals our money | Viet mum says of fiance's family: They want to beat us to death".

I love the 'frog' remark of Dr. Mahathir!

Whether it befits a veteran politician to use such a graphical remark, I don't really care. There's nothing vulgar with the word of 'frog' anyway. Sure some oversensitive people might be offended to read how a politician address another as an animal. Or in this case, an "aquatic leaping anuran amphibian".

Sure it may seem immature. Heh. For me, it's real amusing.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has rubbished a statement by former minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim on the country's leadership transition.

On Wednesday, Zaid urged the Yang di-Pertuan Agong not to appoint Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as the new prime minister.

Describing the statement as "very stupid", Dr Mahathir said Zaid was a person who would party-hop.

"Why should the Yang diPertuan Agong listen to the opinion of only one man? And the person who made that suggestion is not even a credible figure," he said.

"Takkan Yang di-Pertuan Agong mahu dengar cakap katak. (I don't think the Yang diPertuan Agong would listen to a frog)," he told reporters at his office here, yesterday.

On the disqualification of Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam to contest the Umno deputy presidency, Dr Mahathir said it was "peculiar" that Mohd Ali had maintained his position as the Malacca Chief Minister.

"There was a case of Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad who was thrown out because he was involved in money politics and he also lost his position as a minister (Federal Territories Minister).

"What will the public think of Mohd Ali remaining as Chief Minister? We will hear it in the next general election," he said.

Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Zaid's statement was irresponsible and malicious and would not contribute towards uniting the rakyat.

"Instead, he clearly has the motive of causing uncertainty among Umno members and the public at large," he said in a statement yesterday.

Muhyiddin said it was obvious that Umno's power transition was running smoothly and that it was proven that Najib had gained the trust of many Umno divisions to be the next party president.

He said by convention and Barisan Nasional tradition, the Umno president was the most qualified person to lead the country.

Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal described Zaid's statement as devoid of logic as it had been the practice to appoint the Umno president as the prime minister.

From Asiaone, "Dr M: Zaid's plea to King on Najib 'very stupid'".

Ashes of Time Redux

Official website of the movie, "Ashes of Time Redux" here. Check out the trailer too. (More about the show--but beware of Spoilers--in the Wikipedia post on "Ashes of Time".)

Malaysia boleh: Housewife 1 -- Snatch Thieves 0

Inspiring. Real heroine. Victims elsewhere, please take note.

GEORGE TOWN: A gutsy 34-year-old housewife fended off two snatch thieves, causing them to fall off their motorcycle and suffer injuries before they were caught by passers-by.

The incident happened near a traffic light junction in Jalan Batu Feringghi here at 12.45pm on Thursday.

Northeast district deputy police chief Superintendent Gan Kong Meng said the duo rode up alongside the woman who was riding a motorcycle, as she was slowing down at the junction.

The pillion rider then snatched the woman's handbag which was placed in the storage compartment of her motorcycle.

She immediately grabbed her bag from him and put up a fight.

This caused her and the suspects to lose their balance and all of them fell off their motorcycles.

By then a crowd had already rushed to the victim's aid. They apprehended the two men, aged 24 and 26, and called the police.

Gan said the suspects suffered from leg injuries, while the woman had bruises resulting from the struggle.

He added that the two men had been remanded for further investigation.

From The New Straits Times, "Housewife gets the better of snatch thieves".

A mystery TV character to commit suicide? (So what?!)

And yet there are people speculating in this article, "Blind item: Guess the suicide shocker!". Well, I'm more interested in the TV death chart (Who's getting killed off?). Nicely compiled.

Shintaro Kago's Terror of golf course, Terror of olympic game

Kind of NSFW, one may say. But I just love to see how the manga artist, Shintaro Kago reaching out to his (hopefully) potential customers using YouTube (his YouTube account's nick is shintarokago).

Check out his video clips, "Terror of golf course" here & "Terror of olympic game" here.

Kudos to Ryanair for defending their porn stewardess!!

Seriously. No sarcasm here. It's commendable that the Ryanair bosses defend their porn stewardess (The link is NSFW--you've been warned!). The bosses are not named (Kinda makes sense too--I mean their wives might be outraged. Heh.) but their remarks are truly logical:

"What people do before or after they work for Ryanair, or when they're not working for us, is entirely their own business.

"As long as our people work hard and put the comfort and safety of our passengers first, then what they do in their own time, as long as it does not break any laws, is entirely a matter for them. All this proves is that the best-looking girls fly Ryanair."

Quoted from Observer, "Ryanair defends porn stewardess".

Very well said. We can imagine Edita Schindlerova, the porn stewardess (with her nick Edita Bente) would be very loyal to the company. Ryanair is not totally at lost, either. It has a chance to gain some publicity & for the bosses to demonstrate how understanding they are of their employees' after-office lives.

Teen student, Eunice Chew Li Xin, stabbed dead. Her mother is the suspected killer?!

No. She being a 14-year-old girl is for sure not a NTU student. Get it right. There are tragedies and they do not necessarily have to happen in NTU.

Anyway. This is really a tragedy. At such a young age, she has to pass away. Her mother was arrested & charged with a murder. Unthinkable, but let the court discover the truth.

Was Eunice Chew Li Xin killed by her mother because the latter is mentally unsound? And if that's indeed the case, would it be fair to punish the killer for being mentally unhealthy? Has she not been punished enough by having her daughter be a victim of her (the mother's) illness?

Let's wait & see how the this case shall turn out.

A 14-year-old student was found dead with a stab wound in her torso in a one-room flat in Woodlands early on Thursday.

The victim is identified as Eunice Chew Li Xin, a Secondary 3 student of Pei Cai Secondary School.

Police were alerted to the murder at Block 852 Woodlands Street 83 at around 2.50am.

The Chinese teenager was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene at around 3.06am.

A 51-year-old woman, Goh Hai Eng, believed to be the girl's mother and said to be mentally unsound, has been arrested.

She was charged with murder in court on Thursday afternoon.

Neighbours said the girl lived with her mother and a married sister, who has a baby, in the fifth-floor HDB rental flat.

A team of five officials from the Health Sciences Authority went to the flat on Thursday afternoon and took away a bagful of the teenager's clothes at about 3 pm.

Neighbours said they heard sound of breaking glass and arguments from the flat at about 2 am. A neighbour, who gave his name only as Mr Ang, said he was woken up from his sleep by the commotion and he also heard luggage bag being rolled along the common corridor.

Residents said the woman suspect looked troubled and was often seen staring blankly into space.

From Straits Times, "Teen student found dead".

A 14-year-old girl, Eunice Chew Li Xin, was found dead in her one-room rental unit in Woodlands early Thursday morning. She had been stabbed.

Her mother, 51-year-old Singaporean Goh Hai Eng, was arrested and charged with the alleged murder on Thursday afternoon.

Neighbours at Block 852 in Woodlands Street 83 reported a commotion just after 2am.

The victim’s neighbour, Mr Ang, said: "Around 2 to 2.15am, I heard glass breaking and someone dragging something along the corridor. I didn’t know which unit it was. Then around 4am, there was a male standing and talking on the phone. I don't know who that was."

Police said they received a call at around 2.50 am. They found the 14-year-old in her room, with a stab wound to her body.

Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene at 3.06.

Neighbours said the duo had moved into the flat about six months to a year ago and kept largely to themselves.

From Channel NewsAsia, "51-year-old mother charged with murder of her daughter".

A 14-year-old student was found dead from a stab wound to the heart on Thursday morning, reported Lianhe Wanbao.

The murder occurred in a two-room flat at Block 852 Woodlands Street 83 at around 2.50 am.

The victim has been identified as Eunice Chew Li Xin, a Secondary 3 Normal-Technical student at Pei Cai Secondary School.

The suspect is her 51-year-old mother, Madam Wu Hai Xin, reported to be mentally-unstable.

According to the Chinese daily, the teen was sleeping in the bedroom when the incident occurred.

She was alone with her mother in their fifth-floor HDB flat at the time.

They were living in the flat together with Madam Wu's elder daughter and her three-month-old baby daughter.

The suspect's elder daughter, reported to be in her 30s, was the one who discovered her sister's body and called the police.

Suspect "stared blankly" as she was led away

When reporters from Wanbao visited the flat, the two-room flat seemed to be empty and the gate was locked.

According to neighbours, the suspect and her family had moved in only a year before.

Their home was once used as a quarantine area during the SARS period, and was rented out after that to workers.

Neighbours interviewed by reporters from the Chinese daily said they realised a crime had been committed only when they saw police swarming the area.

According to witnesses, the suspect did not resist arrest as she was being handcuffed by police, but just "stared blankly".

A 14-centimetre knife, suspected to be the murder weapon, was recovered from the flat.

Neighbours: Girl was bad-tempered and rude

Neighbours interviewed by reporters from Wanbao recall frequently hearing shouting and other noises from the unit.

A neighbour who was interviewed said: "I heard people arguing and the sound of glass breaking, as well as other noises late last night."

He realised a crime had been committed only when police came by at around 4am.

The neighbour described mother and daughter as not being particularly friendly, and said the victim would frequently slam the door shut when going out, and often spoke to her mother in a rude manner.

Other neighbours described the girl as having a bad temper, who quarrelled frequently with her mother.

School: Victim was well-behaved and conscientious

According to the principal of Pei Cai secondary school however, the victim was a well-behaved student who was concerned about her studies.

Just last week, she was said to have asked her teacher several times regarding the results of a school assessment.

The principal said the victim's sister had called the school to inform them of the incident.

He told reporters from Shin Min that the school will provide counselling for all affected friends and classmates, and will do all it can to help the victim's family.

Mother seemed worried and depressed

According to the Shin Min Daily, the suspect and her elder daughter would frequently adjourn to the stairwell after dinner to drink or smoke.

According to neighbours, Madam Wu always looked worried and depressed, like she "had a lot on her mind".

Neighbours also reported seeing a man who was a regular visitor, but they did not know how he was related to the family.

From Asiaone, "Woodlands murder: Mother stabbed teen daughter".

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Update on 20/03: the late Eunice Chew Li Xin was said to tell her boyfriend that she was worried about her mother.

The teenager who was found dead at her home in Woodlands in the wee hours of Thursday has been described by friends as a "good girl" and fillial daughter", according to a report in Wanbao.

In order to help her mother pay for her medication to help put food on the table, the girl often worked at a fast-food restaurant during the holidays.

14-year-old Eunice Chew Li Xin is alleged to have been stabbed by her 51-year-old mother, Goh Hai Eng.

Friends of the Pei Cai secondary school student told reporters from the Chinese paper that they knew the victim's family was not well-to-do.

Mum had not eaten for four days before incident

A day before the incident, Eunice had told her 16-year-old boyfriend, Valentino Tan, that her mother had not eaten for four days. The girl also told him that she did not have money to buy food back for her mother.

The boy told reporters that on Wednesday, the both of them and a group of friends had gone to Changi airport for a dance event, before gathering back at his home.

At the time, Eunice expressed her worry about her mother.

He said: "She told me she had spent all her money, but was too embarrassed to borrow from us. In the end when she went home, she didn't have money to buy food for her mother."

The boy, who also got to know the girl while working at the fast food restaurant, said he would frequently treat her to meals as he knew about her family background.

"That night, I sent her to the MRT at about 10pm. She messaged me an hour later to wish me goodnight. That was the last time I heard from her..."

Teen was once threatened with a knife

Another friend of Eunice revealed to reporters from Wanbao that the girl had complained to her several times that someone was threatening to kill her with a knife.

She said the teen was so scared by the threats that she ended up staying at her home for 5 days.

The two got to know each other when they were working together at a fast-food restaurant and became good friends.

The friend said: "Although my father was sympathetic towards her situation, he felt it wasn't appropriate for her to continue living here, and persuaded her to return home."

Family background "complicated"

According to a 16-year-old friend of Eunice who called the Wanbao hotline, the girl's family background was "complicated".

Eunice's parents had divorced 3 years ago.

Due to her mother's mental illness, Goh was unable to work, and the family relied on Eunice's elder sister's meagre salary from working at a petrol station to make ends meet.

"In order to lighten her sister's burden, she would work at a fast-food restaurant during the holidays, and would use the money to pay for her mother's medication and food," said the friend, who also commented that the relationship between mother and daughter was "close".

It was reported in Wanbao that Eunice lived together with her mother, sister as well as her sister's few-month-old baby girl.

On occasions when her sister was busy with work, the teen would assume the role as "head of the household" - doing the household chores, as well as looking after her mother and baby niece.

When interviewed by Wanbao's reporters, a good friend from the same school as the teen described the teen as an easy-going person, someone who did not look like she had any troubles.

A group of them who were close to Eunice were devastated by the news of her death. Said her friend :"We were very sad and we all cried when we found out about it."

From Asiaone, "Teen told boyfriend she was worried about mum".

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Update on 22/03: Eunice's boyfriend Valentino was reported to dedicate a video clip (it's available in YouTube) titled, "Memory of Eunice Chew Li Xin". Sweet.

The article also mentioned that upon getting the call about her tragic death, he "did not go down to the flat because he did not want to hinder police investigations". Considerate, perhaps. But if I were him, I'd very likely rush to come over. Heck, I'll be very furious if my loved ones ever come to such an end.

He had said goodbye to his girlfriend just four hours earlier, after a day spent watching planes at Changi Airport and playing computer games.

As with most teenage couples, they couldn't get enough of each other's company. So, even after a day together, she SMSed him twice after she got home at 10pm.

When his handphone rang around 2.45am on Thursday, Valentino Tan, 16, thought Eunice Chew Li Xin, 14, had accidentally pressed against her handphone while asleep.

He ignored it and went back to sleep. But when it rang again a minute later, he sensed that something was wrong and answered the call.

It was Eunice's elder sister. Eunice, she told him, was dead.

Valentino told The New Paper in Mandarin: 'She (Eunice's sister) was crying as she told me that Eunice was dead.

'I was stunned. We were together just hours ago and I couldn't believe she was gone. I couldn't sleep the whole night.'

Eunice's sister, 31, had returned home from work at a petrol station and found her dead in their fifth-storey flat in Block 852, Woodlands Street 83. She had a stab wound to her chest.

The two sisters lived in the two-room flat with their unemployed mother, Goh Hai Eng, 51, who has been charged with murder. She has been remanded and investigations are still on.

Valentino, a Secondary Four student at Jurong Secondary School, said that after receiving the call, he did not go down to the flat because he did not want to hinder police investigations.

Yesterday, Valentino made his way to the mortuary, where he met Eunice's sister and her relatives. Eunice's father, who divorced her mother in 2007, was also there, but the family declined to be interviewed.

Eunice was a Secondary Three Normal (Technical) student at Peicai Secondary School.

She got to know Valentino last November when she started working part-time at a fast food outlet in Jurong.

She worked weekends and earned $3.50 an hour. But she quit her job last month on her mother's instructions.

Eunice had told him that her mother seldom left the flat alone and she was the one who bought her meals.

Every day, she would meet him after school and they would go shopping or to his home in Yew Tee to study.

'She liked coming over to my flat and my mother adored her as well,' said Valentino.

Spent every day together

Eunice and Valentino had been spending every day together since the March school holidays began earlier this week.

On the day before her death, the couple and two friends went to Changi Airport in the morning to shop and 'look at aeroplanes'.

After dinner, they went back to Valentino's flat, where they played computer games and chatted till about 10pm.

'Eunice would go home promptly at 10pm as her mother did not like her returning home too late,' said Valentino.

'She sent me two SMSes after she reached home. I didn't expect that it would be the last time I heard from her.'

He declined to say what the SMSes said.

Valentino spent the rest of Thursday at home looking at photos of Eunice, which were mostly taken on their outings.

He has compiled them into a video and uploaded it on his blog. The video was titled '(In) Memory of Eunice Chew Li Xin'.

'Although we weren't together for very long, I wanted something to remember her by,' said Valentino.

'She was a cheerful and bubbly girl. We had many happy memories together.'

In his blog, Valentino wrote: 'I will always remember you as my girlfriend.

'I wish in my next life you can be my girlfriend again.'

Eunice was cremated at Mandai Crematorium yesterday afternoon.

From The New Paper, "'I can't believe she's gone'".

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Update on 16/01/10: Finally an update for this tragic case. The victim's mother cum murderer pleaded guilty. Likely due to her mental state? The depressed divorcee, who stopped her medication for mental illness, tried to kill herself too.

The woman who killed her 14-year-old daughter last year gave a glimpse of her mental state in the High Court on Friday.

When asked to enter a plea after the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was read to her, Goh Hai Eng said: "I do not know."

After clarifying with her lawyer, Goh, 52, replied: "I've nothing to say." A further round of clarification took place before the bespectacled woman replied with a guilty plea.

Goh had stabbed Eunice Chew Li Xin to death on March 19 last year in their one-room Woodlands flat. Goh was depressed over her second divorce and the sale of her matrimonial flat just before the incident, the High Court heard.

Goh, who is also a grandmother, constantly worried about money and told her family she would kill Eunice and later commit suicide.

"The accused even asked the deceased how she would like to die," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Crystal Ong.

A day before the incident, Goh - who was treated for bipolar disorder at the Institute of Mental Health in 1999 - refused to go for a medical appointment at IMH with her eldest daughter.

Later that evening, Goh called her elder sister to tell her she "was not in a good mood". If she were to die, Goh added, her elder sister could take a television rack from her flat.

Several hours later, at about 2am on March 19, Goh began thinking about killing herself and taking Eunice with her. "She did not want the deceased to live without her as she thought that no one would take care of her," said DPP Ong.

Goh then took a fruit knife and stabbed Eunice once in her chest while she was sleeping. Eunice woke up immediately and Goh hugged her. The mother then pulled the knife out of the girl's chest and threw it away. Eunice cried loudly but Goh walked away. When she heard Eunice take her last breath, she stood up and touched the deceased's face.

Realising that Eunice was dead, a terrified Goh called her eldest daughter and her elder sister, and told them she had killed Eunice. The police were then alerted, but Eunice was pronounced dead at 3.06am.

According to a psychiatric report prepared by Dr Gwee Kok Peng, Goh was suffering from a severe depressive episode of a bipolar disorder since 1999, but had stopped her medication since October 2008. At the time of the offence, Goh was of sound mind, but the mental illness did significantly impair her judgment, opined Dr Gwee.

High Court Judge Kan Ting Chiu directed the prosecution to obtain a further report from Dr Gwee on his findings of diminished responsibility. Also, Justice Kan wanted to know Dr Gwee's assessment on Goh's recovery if she had taken regular and sustained medication.

No date has been set for the next hearing.

Goh, who is now in remand, faces a maximum of life imprisonment for her crime.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Girl's death: Mother pleads guilty".

DEPRESSED and suicidal, a twice-divorced mother called her older sister and said she was leaving the furniture in her one-room flat to her.

Less than four hours later, Goh Hai Eng, fixated about taking her 14-year-old daughter along with her, plunged a knife into the sleeping teenager's chest. The jobless woman then drank a cocktail containing alcohol and the medicine she had been prescribed for her bipolar disorder.

She waited until the girl breathed her last before calling her older daughter and sister to tell them what she had done.

On Friday, Goh, 52, admitted killing her daughter, Eunice Chew Li Xin, in their Woodlands flat on March 19 last year. A court interpreter had to ask her three times how she wanted to plead to the manslaughter charge.

The first time, she grinned and said in Mandarin: 'I do not know.' The second time, she responded: 'I have nothing to say.' When asked a third time, she confirmed she was pleading guilty and stuck her tongue out in an amused manner.

The case was adjourned on Friday, pending confirmation from a psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) that Goh qualified for the defence of diminished responsibility.

From Straits Times, "Mum killed teen daughter".